Identify central concern:

It is a well-known fact that good communication skills are an essential component to being
successful in any business that deals with people (Abella & Cutamora, 2019) It’s one thing having a
great deal of knowledge about MSK conditions and how the body works but if I am unable to
communicate this in a simple, understandable way to my clients it is worth nothing. After doing a lot
of self-reflection I realised that my communication skills were lacking, and I needed to do something
to rectify my shortcomings.

Research a strategy to address central concern:

I started googling different companies and organisations that might be able to help with an
education in public speaking. Toastmasters frequently came up as the global leaders in public
speaking education. At the start of this semester I attended my first Toastmasters event at the New
Farm chapter and was introduced to how their events and meetings were run. It was there that I
learnt about the education program that Toastmasters offered as part of their membership and how
I would be supported through the learning process.

Implement change strategy to address central concern:

I have since moved to Mackay and have become a member of the Mackay chapter of Toastmasters.
I am currently going through their public speaking development program called pathways and have
enrolled to attend an eight week fast track learning program run by toastmasters called speechcraft.

Reassess if change strategy has been successful:

I have attended two meetings now as a Toastmasters member and have been active in the
fortnightly activities where we are encouraged to speak in front of the group and most beneficially
be critiqued on how we have performed with our speeches. I am currently working through the
pathways program and will be presenting my first written and prepared speech within the next
month. This speech will again be evaluated and critiqued so that I will be able to better refine my art
of communication. This is a skill that is going to take years to perfect and it is something that I will
have to continually train but as dedicated as I have been to learning the craft of chiropractic I am
now adding to my focus the ability to be able to communicate the benefits of this profession to the
public.

Abella, R. C., & Cutamora, J. C. (2019). Approach to Public Speaking Skills Development in an
Educational Organization: A Grounded Theory. European Journal of Education Studies.